Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
  • G01N35/00584—Control arrangements for automatic analysers
  • G01N35/00722—Communications; Identification
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
  • G01N35/00584—Control arrangements for automatic analysers
  • G01N35/00594—Quality control, including calibration or testing of components of the analyser
  • G01N35/00613—Quality control
  • G01N35/00623—Quality control of instruments
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
  • G01N35/00584—Control arrangements for automatic analysers
  • G01N35/00722—Communications; Identification
  • G01N2035/00891—Displaying information to the operator

Definitions

• PTL 1 also discloses that the predicted remaining lifetime is displayed as remaining hours or as the number of remaining days obtained by dividing the remaining hours by an average lighting time per day.
• the reagent disk 103 holds a reagent container 113, and rotationally transfers the reagent container 113 to a reagent dispensing position 122 where the reagent dispensing mechanism 105b performs a dispensing operation.
• the reagent dispensing mechanism 105b dispenses a reagent from the reagent container 113 at the reagent dispensing position 122 to the reaction cell 112. Note that the reagent dispensed into the reaction cell 112 reacts with a component in the specimen to be analyzed.
• a component in the specimen and the reagent chemically react in the reaction solution.
• the specimen dispensing mechanism 105a aspirates the specimen to be analyzed from the specimen container 110 and discharges the specimen into the reaction cell 112.
• the reagent dispensing mechanism 105b aspirates the reagent corresponding to an analysis item from the reagent container 113 and discharges the reagent into the reaction cell 112.
• Each dispensing mechanism includes an arm 118, a nozzle 116, and a dispensing mechanism motor 119.
• the arm 118 holds the nozzle 116 and a liquid level sensor 117.
• the nozzle 116 is connected to the liquid level sensor 117.
• the liquid level sensor 117 detects presence of a liquid by a change in capacitance.
• a shield unit 114 is installed near a position where each dispensing mechanism performs the dispensing operation.
• the dispensing mechanism motor 119 moves each dispensing mechanism vertically or in a rotational direction.
• the agitation mechanism 106 agitates the reaction solution in the reaction cell 112 to promote reaction of the analysis target component in the specimen discharged from the specimen container 110 to the reaction cell 112 and the reagent discharged from the reagent container 113 to the reaction cell 112.
• the light source 120 irradiates the reaction solution agitated by the agitation mechanism 106 after chemical reaction with output light.
• the spectrometer 107 disperses the transmitted light passed through the reaction solution.
• the transmitted and dispersed light is detected by a photodetector 205 (see FIG. 2 ), and an absorbance determination unit 204 (see FIG. 2 ) calculates an absorbance based on a detection result, as described later.
• the display unit 123 of the PC is configured by a liquid crystal display (LCD) and the like, and displays an operation screen, a remaining lifetime, and the like.
• the input unit 124 of the PC is configured by a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like, and receives operations from the user.
• the reaction cell cleaning mechanism 108 aspirates the reaction solution from the reaction cell 112 of which colorimetric analysis is completed and discharges a detergent or the like, thereby cleaning the reaction cell 112.
• the nozzle cleaning mechanism 109 cleans a tip of the nozzle 116 of the dispensing mechanism from which the specimen or the reagent was dispensed. Accordingly, residues attached to the nozzle 116 are removed and the next analysis target can be prevented from being affected by the residues.
• FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the optical system of the automatic analysis device according to the present embodiment and devices disposed around the optical system.
• the light source 120 is configured by one or a plurality of LED elements. Note that when the light source 120 is configured by a plurality of LED elements, the amount of current supplied to each LED element is set separately.
• the current detection unit 201 monitors (measures) a current flowing to the light source 120.
• a current adjustment unit 202 includes a circuit that reduces an amount of current supplied to the light source 120 or turns off a power supply of the light source 120, at a timing that does not affect the analysis.
• the light from the light source 120 is irradiated to the reaction cell 112 passing through a metering position between the light source 120 and a diffraction grating 206 during the operation of the reaction disk 104.
• the analysis target component in the specimen and the reagent corresponding to the analysis item react to produce or consume a photometric target substance in proportion to a concentration of the analysis target component.
• reaction tank water thermostatic medium
• the diffraction grating 206 disperses incident light for each wavelength and outputs dispersed light to the photodetector 205.
• the photodetector 205 converts a light amount into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal to the absorbance determination unit 204.
• the absorbance determination unit 204 calculates the absorbance based on the electrical signal output from the photodetector 205, and outputs the calculated absorbance to the control unit 115.
• the control unit 115 performs the colorimetric analysis based on the absorbance output from the absorbance determination unit 204.
• the control unit 115 dispenses cell blank water to all the reaction cells 112 and measures the absorbance of each wavelength from 340 to 800 nm (cell blank measurement).
• the control unit 115 stores the measurement result as a cell blank value in a storage unit (not shown).
• the control unit 115 corrects the absorbance by comparing the cell blank value and the absorbance of the reaction solution to be analyzed, and outputs the corrected absorbance to a screen of the display unit 123 as measurement data.
• FIG. 3 is a diagram showing switching of display of the remaining lifetime on the display unit of the automatic analysis device according to the present embodiment.
• an LED element that configures the light source 120 as a limited-life member will be described as an example.
• the light source 120 configured by an LED element has a longer lighting lifetime than light sources used in biochemical automatic analysis devices of the related arts (such as halogen lamps).
• the lighting lifetime of the light source 120 varies depending on the user's device use environment. For example, the lighting lifetime of the light source 120 is greatly different between a case where the automatic analysis device is operated for only eight hours per day (that is, the light source 120 is turned off for 16 hours per day), and a case where the automatic analysis device is operated continuously for 24 hours. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a uniform replacement time is not provided for the light source 120, and the remaining lifetime is predicted to propose an appropriate replacement time that reflects the device use environment. Note that the remaining lifetime predicted by the control unit 115 is not limited to a time until the lifetime is reached, but may be the number of days until the lifetime is reached or the date and time when the lifetime is reached demanded based on the time and a usage trend of the device.
• the date and time when the lifetime of the light source 120 is reached can also be regarded as the replacement time of the light source 120.
• a plurality of display methods are assumed. For example, if the remaining lifetime is still sufficient, for intuitively grasping the current use status of the light source 120, a method of displaying the ratio (%) of the remaining lifetime to an original lifetime of the (new) light source 120 is more suitable than a method of displaying the specific number of days or the like until the lifetime is reached. Meanwhile, if the remaining lifetime is small, it is easier for the user to grasp the replacement time in detail when displaying the specific number of days until the remaining lifetime than displaying the remaining lifetime as a ratio.
• the control unit 115 of the present embodiment switches a display method of the remaining lifetime to be displayed on the display unit 123 when the remaining lifetime of the light source 120 reaches a predetermined reference value.
• the remaining lifetime is displayed as a remaining ratio
• the remaining lifetime is displayed as the number of remaining days.
• the display method before and after switching is not limited to the example in FIG. 3 , it is preferable that the display method before switching is low resolution (coarse accuracy) and the display method after switching is high resolution (fine accuracy).
• the control unit 115 uses the lighting time, an attenuation rate of the light amount, the supply current value, and other types of information on the light source 120.
• the lighting time of the light source 120 cannot be directly counted, the lighting time can be indirectly obtained from the use time of the automatic analysis device 100.
• the light source 120 is basically lighted during standby and operation, so when the use time of the automatic analysis device 100 is multiplied by, for example, a coefficient of 0.90 to 0.99, the lighting time of the light source 120 is obtained indirectly.
• prediction accuracy is higher when the lighting time of the light source 120 is directly counted and the remaining lifetime is predicted using the directly counted time. Therefore, when control is performed to turn off the light source 120 during standby of the automatic analysis device 100, it is desirable to be able to count the lighting time of the light source 120.
• FIG. 4 is a graph showing a range for displaying the remaining lifetime in a first display method and a range for displaying the remaining lifetime in a second display method.
• a horizontal axis represents the use time of the automatic analysis device 100
• a vertical axis represents the predicted remaining time, respectively.
• a solid line of the graph indicates a range in which the remaining lifetime is displayed in the first display method (for example, the remaining ratio), and a dashed line of the graph indicates a range in which the remaining lifetime is displayed in the second display method (for example, the number of remaining days).
• Point A in the graph indicates a timing of switching the display method.
• the point A is a predetermined reference value, and may be determined only by the predicted remaining time, may be determined only by the use time, or may be determined using both the predicted remaining time and the use time.
• the reference value is set considering a certain replacement preparation period so that a replacement work can be completed before the lifetime of the light source 120 is reached. For example, when a replacement worker will place an order for the light source 120 within a predetermined period after reaching the point A, a time of the point A is set so that the light source can be replaced before the lifetime is reached.
• FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a notification system including PCs of a plurality of automatic analysis devices and a PC used by the replacement worker of the light source.
• the PC of each automatic analysis device is connected with the PC of the replacement worker via a wired or wireless communication line.
• the PC used by the replacement worker may be a terminal device such as a smartphone.
• one worker is assumed to manage the replacement work of the light sources in the automatic analysis devices of A to D installed in separate facilities.
• the control unit 115 of the automatic analysis device 100 notifies the PC of the replacement worker via the communication line that the reference value is reached.
• the PC of the replacement worker is notified. Accordingly, the replacement worker can easily grasp the device that needs to be replaced, and a risk of delay in replacement work can be reduced. Note that it is desirable that a notification to the PC of the replacement worker is performed when the reference value is reached, that is, when the display method is switched, but the notification may be performed after a certain period of time from when the reference value is reached.
• FIG. 6 is an example of a screen displayed on the automatic analysis device and the PC of the replacement worker to determine the replacement work date.
• the remaining lifetime of the light source of the automatic analysis device of A reaches the reference value, and recommended replacement dates of A to C are displayed on the display unit 123.
• a timing of displaying the recommended replacement dates as in FIG. 6 is not limited to immediately after the remaining lifetime reaches the reference value for switching the display method, but may be after a predetermined time (number of days) after reaching the reference value.
• a reference value for displaying the recommended replacement dates may be provided.
• a plurality of candidates for the recommended replacement date is calculated by the control unit 115 considering a usage schedule of the automatic analysis device. For example, for an automatic analysis device that is out of use only on Wednesday in a week, Wednesday is calculated as the recommended replacement date.
• the control unit 115 of the automatic analysis device 100 When a specific recommended replacement date is selected by the input unit 124 from the plurality of recommended replacement dates, the control unit 115 of the automatic analysis device 100 notifies the PC of the replacement worker via the communication line of the selected recommended replacement date. In the example of FIG. 6 , since a recommended date of B was selected by the PC of the automatic analysis device of A, the PC of the replacement worker is notified. Accordingly, there are advantages that it is easier for both the user and the replacement worker to adjust the replacement work date and risk of delays in the replacement work is reduced.
• FIG. 7 is an example of a screen showing a state in which a plurality of candidates are proposed as a display method of remaining lifetime.
• the control unit 115 displays the remaining lifetime on the display unit 123 according to the selected display method. Accordingly, it is easier for the user to grasp the replacement time of the light source 120 as the remaining lifetime can be displayed in the selected method.
• the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are included.
• the light source 120 is described as an example of a limited-life member in the above embodiment, the embodiment can also be applied to other limited-life members used for analysis.
• the nozzle 116 of the dispensing mechanism, the syringe (not shown) used for aspirating and discharging a specimen or a reagent, the reaction cell 112, and the like also have a certain lifetime, and thus, when an algorithm for predicting the lifetime can be created, the same can be applied.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Quality & Reliability (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
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• Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
• Biochemistry (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
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• Automatic Analysis And Handling Materials Therefor (AREA)

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• 2023
  • 2023-09-19 WO PCT/JP2023/033904 patent/WO2024075511A1/ja not_active Ceased
  • 2023-09-19 JP JP2024555699A patent/JPWO2024075511A1/ja active Pending
  • 2023-09-19 CN CN202380067140.8A patent/CN119895266A/zh active Pending
  • 2023-09-19 EP EP23874640.8A patent/EP4600655A1/en active Pending

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